What had originally started as a four-day excursion from the Hornet had turned into a two-week extended stay aboard SB901. Towing the Vanguard from Nipron space to the station had taken its toll on the shuttle Johnny had used to do the job. The tractor beam emitters, warp coil, and plasma coolant injectors were completely shot, and without a replacement shuttle available, the only option left was to wait until his was completely rebuilt.
At first, the job was to take only two or three days more. Those two or three days became another two or three days, and so forth, while 'higher priority' projects were dealt with by the Engineering staff. Johnny had asked a favor of his old friend Garek Loran, now the station Executive Officer, to see if the project could be expedited. "This is expedited," Garek had told him. "We're understaffed and there are too many repair and maintenance projects left over from the war on top of the ongoing task of moving gear from the old station to the new station. I'll do my best to make sure that you aren't getting pushed too far down the roster, and as soon as a new shuttle becomes available you'll be first in line."
He could have hitched a ride with either the Hammerheads or the Banshees, but that would have placed the station short a fighter for the duration, and would have left the Hornet short a shuttlecraft until it returned to SB901 or another Federation base. Tarik had offered Johnny a lift on one of the Hawke armored transports, but the transports didn't have the range to reach the Nipron system. In either case, with a fighter or an armored transport, there was the very significant diplomatic problem of introducing a purely combat vessel into sovereign Nipron space without the Nipron government's prior approval, as Captan Mallory reminded him. And the Hornet would still be missing a shuttle.
So Johnny waited. And waited. And waited.
The fact that the Nipron contact was not going as well as one could have hoped didn't exactly encourage him either. The Niprons had a lot to hide, and were doing a very good job of hiding it. If this situation isn't resolved soon, I'm going to hijack something! Johnny thought.
With no official assignment aboard SB901, and no way to get back to the Hornet, Johnny found himself with a lot of time on his hands. He had heard that the station was short a Chief Security Officer, but he didn't want to fill that billet only to leave it empty on a moment's notice. So he cheerfully accepted orders from a Klingon lieutenant junior grade as a roving Security officer for the time being. At least I'm getting up to speed on Security work, Johnny thought.
Evenings he spent mostly alone, despite invitations from Tarik, Garek, and a dozen other people he'd known in Starfleet who were currently aboard the station. He was too frustrated over his position, too worried about what might be happening at Nipron III, to really enjoy their company. The Bachelor Officer Quarters aboard SB901 were as cheerful and inviting as a monastery, although not nearly as exciting.
This isn't good, Johnny thought. I've got to find a way out of here. Somehow, some way!
With that, he began frequenting the local bars, looking for a transport pilot with time on his/her/its hands who wouldn't mind making a few credits off the Federation...